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Inclusive language: Names

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Why names are important

  • We want all students and staff to feel they are equally valued members of the University community.
  • Repeatedly mispronouncing, misspelling or changing someone's name can have a lasting emotional and professional impact.
  • To be inclusive, everyone can make the effort to learn how to pronounce and spell their peers' and colleagues' names correctly. Getting someone's name right shows respect for their identity, culture and heritage.

Advice for getting names right

  • Introduce yourself, and give others the chance to introduce themselves.
  • Don't give someone a nickname or say their name differently because you find it hard to pronounce. 
  • If you are unsure of how to say someone's name, ask them to pronounce it, and actively listen and practise how to say it.
  • If you are a more visual learner, you could ask the person to show you their name in a written format while they are pronouncing it.
  • Don't worry about getting it wrong. Be open to being corrected, and encourage people to correct you if you get it wrong. If you make a mistake, apologise and try to get it right in future.
  • When emailing or messaging someone, check how they spell their own name, and make sure you use the same spelling – including any accents on the letters. You could copy and paste it from their signature if you are unsure.
  • Be an ally and, if appropriate, gently correct someone if they get a name wrong.
  • Share this guidance with your peers and colleagues.

Names in different countries

  • Be aware of different naming customs from around the world.
  • When asking for someone’s name, ask for their ‘given name’ and ‘family name’. This is preferable to ‘first name’ or ‘Christian name’ and ‘last name’ or ‘surname’.
    • You may also need to ask for a ‘middle name’, but many people will not have one. It can be useful to explain the term.
    • Some cultures write their family name before their given name – for example, in China and some other Chinese-speaking countries. For instance, for a Chinese name such as Wang Xiaoming, ‘Wang’ is the family name and ‘Xiaoming’ is the given name.
    • Some cultures may use two surnames – for example, in Spain and some other Spanish-speaking countries.
  • Some people use a different name to either their given name or family name. This may include a ‘nickname’ or a chosen ‘English name’, but do not make any assumptions unless they have introduced themselves in this way.

Record or spell your name

Here are some ideas for how you could record or show the pronunciation of your name to help others say it correctly. 

  1. Create an audio recording by recording yourself saying your name, using a smartphone or other device. 
  2. Create a phonetic spelling of your name.
  3. You could use software such as the free version of Namecoach to create a name badge.

Share your name

Here are some places where you could display your name to share with others. If you try any of these, encourage your peers or colleagues to do the same.

  1. Add it to your University of Bristol email signature:
    • You could add your phonetic spelling in brackets after your name.
    • You could add an audio recording after your name, by adding some descriptive text like 'Say my name', highlighting this text, and inserting a link to an audio recording file.
  2. Add it to your profile on social media and other channels.
  3. Use name badges at events and include a space to add phonetic spelling.

Further resources

Inclusive writing sections

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